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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · race · swing · clip · vault · kick

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. swing — music
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — to play on
  9. kick — in football
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. swing — in golf
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com